Every fall, high school students applying to college face an intimidating task: They must write a stylish, memorable essay that will boost their admissions chances.

So who can blame them when they look at AI chatbots like ChatGPT that can brainstorm, compose, and edit text, and see what looks like a tempting advantage?

But college admissions experts warn against falling for the imagined payoff of a crisp, well-researched, confident-sounding essay. Instead, using AI to write an admissions essay could land a student at the bottom of the pile.

"A college application is a blank canvas," says Dr. Jennifer Kirk, a high school counseling curriculum leader and member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. "Everything that you throw at it should be a bright splash of color

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